Learning to incorporate the views and research of experts is an important part of learning a more sophisticated and persuasive form of academic writing. As you probably know, providing a direct quote from a text involves repeating it in its exact form, and making sure you indicate that it鈥檚 a quote by using quotation marks.
You also need to provide the source of the quote, either in brackets after the text or as a footnote or endnote, depending on the referencing system you use.
Rules for quotes:
- Repeat the text in its exact form 鈥� not even a small change.
- Use quotation marks to indicate that it鈥檚 a quote.
- Always source the quote.
Quoting from literature is usually pretty straightforward, and it鈥檚 unlikely that anyone鈥檚 going to pass Shakespeare鈥檚 language off as their own. But it can be harder to know how to make more general references to someone else鈥檚 thinking, or to see the line between writing about your own views and referencing someone else.
What is plagiarism?
Plagiarism is a deliberate or accidental use of someone else鈥檚 ideas or words without acknowledging them. It鈥檚 considered a form of intellectual theft or academic cheating and can be a very serious matter. University students can fail a course and even be denied a degree if they鈥檙e found to have plagiarised, so it鈥檚 important that you develop good habits at school.
Using other people鈥檚 ideas is part of learning
Students often find it difficult to differentiate between using research as a basis for formulating their own argument, and plagiarising the ideas of others.
You may have read a number of different articles or books before you started your assignment. You probably absorbed these views and let them help you formulate your own argument. That鈥檚 how academic research and writing works. It鈥檚 how ideas work. You鈥檙e not expected just to come up with your own amazing thoughts in a vacuum.
In fact, that鈥檚 actively discouraged. It鈥檚 much better to use the research of others as bricks in the structure of your argument. And because that鈥檚 the way you鈥檙e supposed to develop your thinking, you need to show that you鈥檝e done the proper research. So, even if you end up paraphrasing, rather than quoting directly from a critic or historian, you still need to credit them with the idea. You need to acknowledge where the bricks in your argument have come from.
Paraphrasing can be as powerful as direct quotes, unless you can find a concise quote that expresses the idea you want exactly. If you鈥檙e writing under exam conditions, paraphrasing rather than quoting directly also cuts out the process of rote learning (although in English, you鈥檒l need to quote directly from your literary texts no matter what).
Correctly referencing other people鈥檚 work
It鈥檚 fine to mention the work of a critic like in the example below.
鈥淎s Smith says in his article, Hamlet is really a play about 鈥榯he dangers of navel-gazing鈥欌��
Even if you don鈥檛 quote Smith鈥檚 exact words, you鈥檙e still correctly referencing him and his article. What you CAN鈥橳 do is to write, 鈥�Hamlet is really a play about the dangers of navel-gazing鈥� if you don鈥檛 make any reference to the fact that this idea originated with Smith.
There is, however, an exception to the rule about paraphrasing and plagiarism. You don鈥檛 need to quote your teacher鈥檚 views about a text or the views of your friend after your long discussion with her during your study session. Please don鈥檛 write in your final exam that 鈥淢rs. Smith, my teacher, believes that Hamlet is a play about the dangers of navel-gazing鈥� or 鈥淢y friend Rai thinks that Hamlet is a play about….鈥�
As a general rule, if it鈥檚 published, you should reference it. If it鈥檚 the view of your friend/neighbour/teacher/uncle, feel free to leave that part out.
How to avoid accidental plagiarism
Definitely do enough general research, or possibly cross-examine Mrs. Smith about the source of her ideas, just to ensure that whatever you鈥檝e written about isn鈥檛 a famous idea belonging to someone else.
A final tip about avoiding plagiarism is to make sure you take careful notes while you鈥檙e researching. Sometimes students fall into the trap of plagiarising because they haven鈥檛 made a note of where an idea has come from. They can鈥檛 remember whose idea or statement it is, so they end up representing it as their own. This is natural, especially when you鈥檙e experiencing study overload, but if you鈥檙e careful to note the source (the person and the publication) of everything, it鈥檒l be much harder for you to slip into any form of plagiarism.
